Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Poplar River Power Station, Coronach, Saskatchewan. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
REGINA – On July 31, at 4:55 p.m., SaskPower observed a new summer demand record for electricity of 3,669 megawatts (MW), exceeding the previous mark set last August by 72 MW.
The new record comes as a heatwave settles in across Saskatchewan, the Crown corporation noted in a release. With daily highs in much of the province anticipated to remain above 30 C for several days, it is possible that another new record could be set within the week.
“Increasing power sales and new record peak loads are strong signs of a growing province and growing economy,” said Don Morgan, Minister Responsible for SaskPower.
This summer peak came just as SaskPower is still dealing with one of its principal power stations being down as a result of flooding damage in early June.
- 0015 Latus Viro0015 Latus Viro
- 0054 SIMSA Energy Forum0054 SIMSA Energy Forum
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda
- 0052 Predator Inspections0052 Predator Inspections
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0043 ALX ten sizes0043 ALX ten sizes
- 0039 Summit ESP Saskatchewan lower third0039 Summit ESP Saskatchewan lower third
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0004 Royal Helium PO Ad 02
- 9001
- 0002
SaskPower spokesperson Joel Cherry told Pipeline Online, “Both units at Poplar River are down, but we hope to have Poplar River Unit 2 back up sometime next week. Crews have been working around the clock to clear debris such as mud and hay from the system, but progress has been slow because of the extent of the flooding.”
“Divers are on site clearing debris and we are pumping water through the system. Once the water runs clean through the system and we no longer see debris build-up, normal operations can resume,” he said.
As for the peak load, Cherry said the interconnections to neighbouring utilities were running full out, and strong wind was a benefit, at about 363 megawatts out of a possible 617.
At the moment of peak demand, SaskPower saw from each power source (rough numbers):
- Natural Gas – 1400 MW
- Coal – 900 MW
- Hydro – 605 MW
- Wind – 350 MW
- Solar – 15 MW
- Other – 10 MW
- Interconnections:
-
- Manitoba – 300 MW
- Alberta – 90 MW
- Southwest Power Pool – 0
The Alberta Electric System Operator indicated that at 4:57 p.m., Alberta was exporting 89 megawatts to Saskatchewan.
-
At this moment 80% of Alberta's electricity is being produced by fossil fuels. Wind is at 13.5% of capacity and producing 4.7% of total generation, while solar is at 81.0% of capacity and producing 9.73% of total generation. At the same time we are importing 263 MW or 2% pic.twitter.com/V2MoTSQcBR
— Reliable AB Energy (@ReliableAB) July 31, 2023
The highest overall peak loads in Saskatchewan are typically experienced in the winter. The all-time demand record of 3,910 MW was set on December 30, 2021.
- 0015 Latus Viro0015 Latus Viro
- 0054 SIMSA Energy Forum0054 SIMSA Energy Forum
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda
- 0052 Predator Inspections0052 Predator Inspections
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0043 ALX ten sizes0043 ALX ten sizes
- 0039 Summit ESP Saskatchewan lower third0039 Summit ESP Saskatchewan lower third
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0004 Royal Helium PO Ad 02
- 9001
- 0002
Pipeline Online provides the in-depth coverage on energy issues in this province that no other media comes close to. It does NOT receive federal journalism subsidies. However, with recent action from Facebook to block news links, it’s important to follow Pipeline Online in other manners. The easiest is to check each morning at PipelineOnline.ca, with the top story posted at 7 a.m. Monday to Friday, and additional coverage throughout the day and weekend. But you can also follow on LinkedIn and Twitter. You can follow editor Brian Zinchuk online at LinkedIn as well (you’ll see more stories that way). Finally, you can subscribe to a weekly newsletter.